Office for Mac 2011 Trial Available, Incl. Retail Price List

Microsoft has made its new Office for Mac 2011 software available as 30 day trial copy for users. Even though Office for Mac 2011 does not include all the components available in the Windows version of Microsoft Office Professional Plus 2010, but it does includes the most essential ones, i.e., Word, Excel, PowerPoint and Outlook.

Microsoft launched Office for Mac 2011 in October. With Office for Mac 2011 Outlook on Mac will return, offering similar functionality and appearance, including a Mac inspired theme ribbon, as Outlook 2010 for Windows. It will also allow for multiple document editing. Users will now be able to edit the same document at the same time, without getting a lockout notice. It will include document sharing with other Mac and Windows Office users, through SharePoint, SkyDrive and other web apps.

Microsoft has slapped product activation on Office for Mac 2011. Now, new users of Office for Mac 2011 must enter a 25-character activation key within 15 days of installing the product otherwise the product will refuse to launch. At the end of the grace period, Office for Mac 2011 refuses to launch. Failure to enter the product key and activate Office for Mac, it displays a message on the screen that reads, “You must activate your copy of Office for Mac before you can use it,” along with a button that initiates the online activation procedure.

Both the grace period and the result of not activating Office for Mac 2011 are stricter than Microsoft Office 2010 for Windows. Microsoft Office 2010 gives users 30 days to activate and even lets them reset the grace period up to five times, giving users up to 180 days before they must activate.

Office for Mac 2011 is available in two retail editions, about which we have already discussed in our earlier post.

Microsoft Office for Mac Home and Student 2011:

Includes Word for Mac, PowerPoint for Mac, Excel for Mac and Messenger for Mac.

Retail price starting at £89.99 ($119.99), will be available in two editions, single install for £89.99 ($119.99) and a Family Pack for £109.99 ($149.99) with three installs for families with more than one Mac in their household.

Microsoft Office for Mac Home and Business 2011:

Includes Word for Mac, PowerPoint for Mac, Excel for Mac, Outlook for Mac and Messenger for Mac

Retail price starting at £189.99 ($199.99), will be available in two editions, single install for £189.99 ($199.99) and a Multi-Pack for £239.99 ($279.99) with two installs for a user with two machines.

Interested users can download 30 day trial copy of Microsoft Office for Mac 2011 from here.